On a Night When Nothing Happened
Two bulky men on a winter sidewalk,
taking leave of one another,
the night so cold they kept their hands in their pockets,
the words they might have said only clouds of vapor,
the kiss they might have shared in that public spot
so unthinkable, even the stars were laughing.
Two men facing each other, that was all.
Yet here we are, twenty-three years later,
still facing each other, remembering that first goodnight.
—Wayne Courtois
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Wayne Courtois writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His books include the erotic novels My Name Is Rand and In the Time of Solution 9, the novel Tales My Body Told Me, and the award-winning memoir A Report from Winter. Wayne and his husbear of 25 years, Ralph Seligman, who were married in New York in October 2013, live in Kansas City, Missouri.
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